Situated on the western side of East Nusa Tenggara province lays the autonomous town of Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo.

The area around Labuan Bajo is known for excellent diving sites and is one of the prime locations for diving. This town also boasts having state of the art equipment relating to decompression sickness with their hyperbaric facilities and ventilators.

A lot of attention has been given to the security and safety of citizens and visitors alike which I believe is key to making this destination a definite bucket list item.

The airport at Labuan Bajo has also had some major upgrades (on-going), where the airport is now able to handle larger aircraft. Komodo airport was inaugurated on the 27th December 2015 by President Jokowi.  All buildings within the airport have been upgraded to accommodate the expected 1.5 million passengers every year. The runway is 2250 meters in length and runs roughly in a north south direction.

If all goes according to plan, the government hopes that by 2023 Labuan Bajo will host the G20 Summit as well as the ASEAN Summit. This of course would be a big boost for this town.

If you are looking at seeing some magical sunsets, and when completed sometime in 2022, Kompas Bajo will offer unprecedented views of the sunset, so keep an eye out for this gem. Kompas Bajo has the typical style of the traditional Manggarai house design. The house style has a typical conical shaped roof.

With the upgrading of facilities in and around Labuan Bajo, the local harbour has also had some significant upgrades done! Part of the new harbour is said to be used for concerts. This would be a perfect place where tourists could meet locals and learn more about the multiple cultures here.

Since around 2017 the Jokowi government has been on a path of helping its citizens and improving infrastructure in a very big way, especially to attract more tourists to the region! Billions of Rupiah are being spent on roads and road maintenance, airport upgrades, water supply upgrades and much more!

So for your next trip to Indonesia, make sure you take a trip to Labuan Bajo and see for yourself how beautiful this town and its surrounding areas really are.  There is much to see and do if you enjoy exploring.

Till our next destination…

Author: JS

Travel Vlogger, Journalist,